Xyris gracilis

Xyris gracilis, commonly known as slender yellow-eye,^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Xyridaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a tufted herb with linear leaves with 5 to 8 flowering stems with bright yellow flowers.

Xyris gracilis
In Boonoo Boonoo National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Xyridaceae
Genus:	Xyris
Species:	X. gracilis
Binomial name
Xyris gracilis R.Br.[1]

Habit in Cathedral Rock National Park

Description

Xyris gracilis is a tufted herb with flat, linear leaves 60–29 cm (24–11 in) long and 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) wide with a sheathing base 14–60 mm (0.55–2.36 in) long and brown or reddish. There are usually 5 to 8 yellow inflorescences, each 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) on flowering stems 27–66 cm (11–26 in) long, each inflorescence with 6 to 14 bracts arranged in 3 to 5 whorls and the flowers opening one at a time. The style is 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long with branches 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long. Flowering occurs in December and January.^[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Xyris gracilis was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.^[5][6] The specific epithet (gracilis) means "slender".^[7]

Distribution and habitat

Slender yellow-eye grows in moist or swampy areas, often in heath, and is widespread on the coast and ranges of New South Wales and southern Victoria.^[2][3][4]